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Dynamics Simulation of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM)
Dynamics Simulation of Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM)
FEBRUARY 2013
ABSTRACT
vi
ABSTRAK
Tujuan kajian in adalah untuk memerhati process simulasi dinamik vinil kloride
monomer terutamanya di dalam seksyen reaksi. Simulasi dijalankan oleh perisisan Aspen
Hysys dengan mengunakan beberapa langkah. Untuk membangunkan simulasi dinamik,
langkah pertama adalah membangunkan mod keadaan stabil. Setelah simulasi keadaan
stabil telah selesai, maka saiz dan memasang kontroler perlu dilakukan. Langkah ketiga
adalah mengawal kontroler. Ciri-ciri proses tindak balas boleh disiasat oleh perubahan
kadar aliran bahan-bahan mentah. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahawa tindak balas sementara
reaktor VCM adalah proses tindak balas songsang. Keputusan hasil kajian ini adalah
seksyen oxychlorination reaktor vinil klorida monomer boleh dibangunkan dengan
menggunakan simulasi dinamik sebagai proses pemantauan jika sebarang gangguan berlaku
selepas parameter berubah dalam proses. Sementara itu, alam sekitar dan keselamatan
manusia dipelihara daripada sebarang pencemaran dan kejadian berbahaya. Selain daripada
itu, kajian ini boleh menjadi panduan kepada industri VCM untuk meningkatkan prestasi
proses. Signifikan kajian meningkatkan pengetahuan tentang ciri-ciri proses VCM dalam
seksyen reaktor oleh simulasi proses menggunakan simulasi dinamik. Satu lagi kesan yang
ketara adalah pengkomersilan simulasi dinamik kepada industri VCM yang membawa 1001
manfaat kepada industri.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
SUPERVISORS DECLARATION
ii
STUDENTS DECLARATION
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
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ABSTRAK
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
viii
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
xii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of Research
1.2
Problem Statement
1.3
1.4
1.5
Scope of Research
1.6
Expected Outcome
1.7
Significance of Research
1.8
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
Introduction
2.2
2.3
Dynamics Simulation
12
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
3.1
Introduction
15
3.2
Procedure
17
3.3
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3.4
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3.5
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3.6
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CHAPTER 4
4.1
Introduction
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4.2
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CHAPTER 5
5.1
Conclusion
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5.2
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REFERENCES
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APPENDIX A1
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LIST OF TABLES
Table No.
3.1
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
Title
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure No.
2.1
2.2
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
3.14
3.15
3.16
3.17
3.18
3.19
3.20
3.21
3.22
3.23
3.24
3.25
3.26
3.27
3.28
3.29
3.30
3.31
3.32
3.33
3.34
3.35
3.36
3.37
3.38
3.39
Title
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3.40
3.41
3.42
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7
4.8
4.9
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
PVC
VCM
SP
SetPoint
OP
Output Signal
PV
Process Variables
EDC
OSHA
PPM
HCI
Hydrogen Chloride
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF RESEARCH
Vinyl chloride is the organic chloride that most important in industrial chemical
used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The chemical compound 1,2dichloroethane or ethylene dichloride (EDC), is a chlorinated hydrocarbon, mainly used to
produce vinyl chloride monomer (VCM,) EDC is a colourless liquid with a chloroformlike odour. VCM and EDC are very harmful substances where both this substances is toxic
and flammable, then the manufacture of VCM and EDC should concerns regarding to
hazard, safety and pollution. The required development the software of chemical process
gives significant impact in chemical process simulation. With the small number of VCM
industry that using the simulation on their process, this research will bring the opportunity
to industry where dynamic simulation can be one tool to reduce plant design time by allows
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designer to quickly test various plant configurations without effect the society and
environment. A process simulation also displays significant features and characteristics of
the system which one wishes to study, predict, modify or control. It also represents some
dynamic system be use to gain important information when the costs, risks or logistics of
manipulating the real system in plant are prohibited. Therefore this research is important to
industry prove to society that the modern VCM industry is more safety and cleanest.
1.2
PROBLEM STATEMENT
1.3
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
2.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTION
The research question that will obtain from this research is:
1.
2.
3.
1.5
SCOPE OF STUDY
The scope of the researches is the dynamics behavior on VCM in reactor section
that require specific operating procedure to ensure the reaction process is stable. In addition
for scope of software for dynamic simulation is ASPEN HYSYS.
1.6
EXPECTED OUTCOME
From the study, the vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) can be demonstrated using
dynamics simulation. The result of this study can become guidance to VCM industry to
improve process performance and safety.
.
1.7
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
1.8
CONCLUSION
This study is highly beneficial and most helpful research for industries to analysis
any question or problems that related to abnormal of process production VCM in reactor
section using dynamics simulation to obtain quality and quantities product without effect
on environment, property, human safety and organization cost. Investigate ways to support
the integration of representation, guidance, simulation and execution capabilities for
models of software processes.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this chapter is to provide a literature review of past research effort
such as journals or articles related to reactor section and dynamics simulation analysis for
production of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). Moreover, review of other relevant research
studies are made to provide more information in order to understand more on this research.
Health and safety regulations (OSHA) require the monitoring of concentrations of hazard
species in all facilities where VCM is produced or used. The time for person can be in
environment that exposed to less than 1 ppm is over 8 hours and cant exceeding 15 minute
for no more than 5 ppm environment. Exposures to more than 100 ppm can bring to
dangerous disease to person. The characteristic of VCM is flammable to heat, flame and
oxidizing agent based on fire triangle. The use of stabilizers prevents polymerization during
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processing and storage (Alexandre 2008). Dynamics simulation is one tool that plays a
significant role in improving product quality, plant efficiency, and safety. The respond that
come from the dynamics simulation are useful tool that can be applied to all tasks of
process operation to predict the behavior of specific unit or process. Software modularity,
user friendly interfaces and computing power has increasingly opened up new opportunities
for the application of advanced mathematical models in process operations. In new global
competition to produce good quality of VCM, organization need to accelerate process
engineering design, reduce capital costs and optimize the various process operations
(Kellner et al, 1999).
2.2
Based on the figure 2.1, Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or (CH2=CHCL) process
is involved 3 sections which reaction section, separation section and purification section.
For reaction section, the process that involved is recovery of HCl with oxychlorination
process and direct chlorination process. In separation process is thermal cracking
(pyrolysis) process and purification section is VCM purification. For this research only
oxychlorination process in reaction section been focus where 85% of amount 1,2 ethylene
dichloride (EDC) produce from this process (Alexandre, et,al, 2008). The three main steps
process are explained briefly below:
intensive heat transfer, prevents the occurrence of hot spots and allows more efficient
catalyst regeneration. Function of fluid bed reactor is by improve contact two phases in a
chemical process and is used to store heat in chemical process. The excellent distribution in
fixed-bed makes it possible to maintain a constant temperature to ensure low by-product
formation and to achieve optimum process control. The reaction gas passes a filter unit in
which the catalyst fines are separated from the gas.
From this reaction the conversion of EDC can achieved with selectivity between 91
96% from the ethylene conversion of 93 97%. An increase in by-product formation is
observed with increasing reactor temperature. The oxychlorination reaction is exothermic
reaction where heat capacity is -238 kJ/mol EDC made) and requires heat removal for
temperature control, which is essential for efficient production of EDC. Higher reactor
temperatures lead to more by-products, mainly through increased ethylene oxidation to
carbon oxides and increased EDC cracking yield VCM and cracking steps lead
progressively to by-products with higher levels of chlorine substitution. The CuCl2 serves
as catalyst often contain activators and stabilizers such as chlorides of the rare earths and
alkali metals. Under the reaction condition is no free chlorine (Wakiyama, 1971). Catalyst
also deactivate if the temperature is high more than 300C though the sublimation of CuCl 2
increased. The process flow diagram is like in figure 2.1. Ethylene, oxygen and recycle HCl
will mix first in mixer before entering the reactor section. The product from reactor section
will enter caustic scrubbing tower where unreacted HCl is removed. The vapor then passes
to a refrigerated condensation system to recover EDC and water. The product steam is
cooled and flashed to remove all non condensable mainly nitrogen and unreacted oxygen at
top product and EDC at bottom product before the EDC flow to purification section.
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Some key impurities are listed below: 1,1,2 - trichloroethane (TCE), chloral (CCl 3
- CHO), trichloroethylene (TRI), 1,1 - and 1,2 - dichloroethylenes, ethyl chloride, chloro methanes (methyl -chloride, methylen - chloride, chloroform), as well as polychlorinated
high boiling components (Alexandre et al, 2008). In particular, chloral needs to be
removed immediately after reaction by washing because of its tendency to polymerization.
The formation of TRI is undesired, because its removal by distillation is very difficult. In
fact, TRI and EDC form a low - boiling point azeotrope very close to EDC. The formation
of TRI in the oxychlorination reactor is due to the acetylene entrained with the HCl
byproduct from cracking. Secondary reactions manifest, as explained next. An amount of
ethylene is lost by combustion at higher temperature:
2.3
DYNAMIC SIMULATION
progress on the work product, raw material consumption and etc can be monitored and
compared against planned values computed by the simulation. This helps personnel
determine when possible corrective action may be needed. The major activity of support
operational decisions such coding and integration testing can be commencing by using
simulation. Evaluating current project status using timely project data and employ
simulation to predict the possible outcome if proposed actions such commence integration
testing can be taken or delay can be due by personnel (Kellner et al, 1999). Another
purpose is process improvement and technology adoption from organization plant in a
variety of ways. In process improvement settings, organizations plants are often faced with
many suggested improvements. Advantage of dynamics simulation is simulation can
provide specific process improvement decisions such as go/no go on any specific proposal,
or prioritization of multiple proposals by forecasting the impact of a potential process
change before putting it into actual practice in the organization.
Finally, the advantage by using dynamics simulation in VCM process is training
through involved in simulations can help people to accept the uncertainty of their initial
prediction about the results of given actions in process. There has two type of person where
one has abilities to predict from data and one do not possess good skills or inherent abilities
to predict the behavior of systems with complex feedback loops and/or uncertainties as are
present in software processes. Overall, active participation in a good mix of simulations can
provide learning opportunities to personnel that could compare real world experience that
only be gained through years in industry (Kellner et al, 1999). The developed software
tools support the application of model-based approaches to the design, operation,
optimization, and control of polymerization processes. Ideally, such a model can predict the
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steady-state and dynamic behavior of a process over a wide range of operating conditions to
an acceptable degree of accuracy (Krallis et al, 2010).
For the reactor in Aspen Hysys, all of the reactor operations share the same basic
property view. The primary differences are the functions of the reaction type (conversion,
kinetic, equilibrium, and heterogeneous catalytic or simple rate) associated with each
reactor. As opposed to a separator or general reactor with an attached reaction set, specific
reactor operations may only support one particular reaction type. For instance, a conversion
reactor will only function properly with conversion reactions attached. If you try to attach
equilibrium or a kinetic reaction to a conversion reactor, an error message will appear. The
gibbs reactor is unique in that it can function with or without a reaction set. Conversion
reactors can be used to quickly calculate reaction products. The conversion of a specified
reactant is described by an equation which can be a function of temperature. A conversion
reactor might be used in place of a plug flow reactor with multiple reactions inside a
recycle loop in order to save time. The actual plug flow reactor calculations would be done
once the recycle is converged and conditions are more finalized. Another situation where
conversion reactors are useful is when product yields are known but detailed kinetics may
not be available. Many refinery reactors, including hydro treating, alkylation, catalytic
cracking, coking, and others can be modeled with conversion reactors. Another reason for
the conversion reactor been used in this simulation is because conversion reactor is a basic
for the fluid bed reactor.
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